Take the lead

You decide that since this is your quest, you should play the main part. You take the bag of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from Fred’s hand and walk to the entrance to the kitchens. The painting of the bowl of fruit lets you through into the kitchens. You walk down the corridor with Fred and George following behind you.

The main room of the kitchens is a mirror image of the Great Hall above it. You stare around the cavernous space in front of you before belatedly noticing the cluster of house-elves standing at the foot of one of the tables. They’ve all turned to look at you in surprise. One of the house-elves, larger than the rest, raises an arm to point at you.

“Intruders!” he yells.

Quickly, you take a pinch of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and throw it into the air. The kitchens vanish into darkness, but it’s already too late. You hear a loud siren and angry screams from the house-elves in front of you. It seems like they’re very possessive about the kitchen’s contents. Behind you, you hear Fred and George fidget nervously.

“Let’s get out of here”, George says.

You hear Fred and George’s footsteps retreat. You turn around to follow them, but slam into a wall instead. You stumble and fall to the ground. Fred and George manage to escape, but have left you behind. You hope that you can avoid the house-elves, but you feel a strong hand grip your collar. The house-elves keep hold of you until the darkness vanishes.

You’re surrounded by a group of angry looking house-elves. Normally, house-elves are subservient, but the Hogwarts ones have a more independent streak than the others. You suspect that the professors turn a blind eye to punishments meted out to kitchen thieves. You open your mouth to apologise, but the large house-elf pushes a small ball between your lips. You have a brief taste of bitterness, before you swallow the object.

“That should be a good enough punishment”, the large house-elf says.

You realise what he means a moment later, when your whole body is wracked with pain. You try to scream, but nothing comes out. You writhe in the house-elves grips, but they don’t seem to care. Instead, they drag you back down the corridor and drop you outside, in front of the painting.

“Let that be a lesson to you”, the lead house-elf tells you.

You don’t have the breath to reply. The house-elves troop back into the kitchen, leaving you on your own.

It takes a few minutes for the pain to reduce to a bearable level. You decide not to mess with the Hogwarts house-elves again.